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25 October 2015

You know it - mindset matters when we decide to make a change. Change is never easy. If it were, everyone would be doing it - right? So how do you remain focused before you have seen any real evidence of success? Here are 3 tips that work for me:

1. Limit your time with people who will allow you to have too many pity parties. Once you start down the poor me path, it's not long before it starts to cloud your judgement. All of a sudden you're back in a dark hole and can't even think of a way out.

2. Associate with like minded people. It can get pretty lonely out there when you decide to make a shift in life. You're going to have tough times - you're going to face resistance. Find a new team to help cheer you on. Those closest to you may not be your best support system and that's a tough pill to swallow. But it's true. Find yourself some cheerleaders.

3. Practice mindfulness. There are so many ways to do that and you have to find one that works for you. You're training your mind to work a new way - to believe before there is any evidence to support that belief takes faith. Mindfulness is key.

Change takes focus and a strong mind - these tips will help with that.

20 October 2015

The results are in and we have a strong majority. Personally, I have mixed emotions.

No doubt, it was time for a change of leadership. We achieved this result - the people have spoken.

I'm sad to see iconic figure Peter Stoffer leave The House - he has fought long and hard for our area and for veterans in particular. He has been with us since 1997. I've had many opportunities over the years to refer clients and to call upon him myself to resolve issues that were unjust. Peter has always responded with a personal call and a commitment to help resolve the issue. I know that he leaves big shoes to fill.

I'm a fan of minority governments because they often offer an opportunity for dialogue - although that's not always the case. Mr. Trudeau has a strong majority and I for one can't wait to see what that will bring. If he follows in his father's footsteps, we may be entertained along the way.

We start a new chapter - one that I hope is filled with fairness and a return to the identity that we enjoy as Canadians. Canada, after all, has spoken.

14 October 2015

In a course recently I asked everyone, "Are you meeting your targets?" I could tell by the reactions that they weren't. As a recovering ostrich, I knew full well where they were coming from. I never knew what my revenues were until tax time. I say 'knew' because I learned some time ago there is a positive relationship between tracking your numbers and profit.

We're in the final quarter of the year for sole proprietors. No sense looking back!! You cannot undo the past. Don't beat yourself up - leave that for the trolls. When we know better, we do better. We can, though, implement best practices moving forward.

Don't let June 15th (tax time) be the first time you have a look at your revenues. Here's my challenge to you: use these next 10 weeks wisely. Set aside some time and develop a mini-strategy to end the year. Start today to run your business like a business.

12 October 2015

Thanksgiving - all over the internet today we will see one story after another about the wonderful lives that people have and the things that they are grateful for. It's good to be grateful.

It's easy to appreciate the new car that your parents gave you for your 18th birthday or the beautiful neighbours who always send you a plate of dinner when they are cooking a big meal - that gratitude is common sense gratitude but what about the tough gratitude?

How much time do you spend being grateful for either the tough things that show up in your life or for the things that you take for granted.

Set aside some time to honour the not so obvious things that you have to be grateful for. What about that tough and painful mistake that you made that resulted in you being totally humiliated? Not easy but there was benefit in that mistake that churned to the surface once you processed it. Can you remember a time when you envied another person because they had more than you did? There is benefit in humble living.

I look back on my life and think of all the skills I learned because not everything was handed to me on a platter. We didn't have everything we wanted or needed as children but we learned how to work hard and I'm grateful for that.

Although I complain about being forced to take the bus, I appreciate the people I have met on my travels who opened my eyes to the blessings I do enjoy. I'm grateful for that lesson.

Today - take a moment and reflect on the things that you take for granted and you will notice that you really do have so much more to be grateful for than you can name in one day.

6 October 2015

We have all seen this pic - we only need to see the next turn in the road, right? That all sounds lovely on camera but the reality is, we are scared spitless to take that turn. Most of us spend far too long waiting for some poor guy to come back and tell us what is going to greet us when we get around that turn.

The truth is, most folks are so afraid to make the turn that they justify it with "better a devil you know than one you don't". I know this because for a long time that's what I would do.

What I've learned is that the status quo gets your nowhere. What's around the corner is exactly what you need to move forward. There may be any number of corners. I'd be more concerned that you're stuck looking at the same landscape all your life and missing the bigger picture called living.